I have a Mdl 19-4 in .22 Rem Jet

[MooseP]

YUP....I really do. Come on S&W guru's I need some help here. I've been all over this site and many others, trying to confirm what I have and how it happened. Everything I've read shows the .22 Rem Jet was only made in the Mdl 53. But I have a beautiful (98 +-%) Mdl 19-4, well marked on the frame just inside the cylinder area. It has the 8 3/8" barrel, white outlined rear site, square burr hammer & squared grip. I believe the trigger is a target trigger and it breaks clean at 2.1 lbs. As with the Mdl 53 it says .22 Magnum on the right side of the barrel. It does not have the moon clips to fire the .22 rimfire and it don't appear it's made that way because the hammer only has the centerfire point. I took this on consignment to sell for a friend but before I post it for sale I really need to know what it's worth. Comes with 2 full boxes of Remington ammo and RCBS reloading dies. Could this be "One of a Kind"?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Or, if you know someone I can call that may be able to help let me know.

 

[lebomm]

Sounds to me like what you have is a Model 19 to which someone has mounted Model 53 barrel & cylinder. Some pix would help a lot for some of the more expert among us to evaluate it. BTW, the Model 53 also has its rimfire & centerfire firing pins in the frame, and a selector on the hammer to choose between them.

Larry

 

[gdogs]

Simply put... a conversion. Someone took a Mod 19 frame and had a Mod 53 barrel and cylinder installed on it. Same frame size and the same cylinder length for that matter. The 22lr didn't use moon clips, but rather stainless inserts that dropped into the cylinder. I'm guessing there is no frame mounted firing pin for the rimfire, so it's a moot point that gun doesn't have the adapters. For the person looking for a 22 Jet to shoot, it would be a bargain at $450 (assuming the conversion was done well). Doubt many would pay that though.

 

[A10]

I agree that it must be a conversion. It would be fun to shoot, and if you are in the market for a .22 Jet then it is probably an OK deal. I doubt it will ever generate any collector value unless the conversion was done by a noted gunsmith.

 

[nipster]

Somebody ruined a perfectly good model 19 is what you have.

 

[MooseP]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. If it is a conversion it's done professionally with not a hint it's not original. This gun looks like it just came out of the box. Sorry about no pics, I tried to load them last evening but there was a snafu. Will work on that again later. Thanks again and keep the comments and opinions coming. I was actually thinking this was some sort of proto-type that S&W may have been working on. Is that possible?

 

[murphydog]

The .22 Jet was out of production before the 19-4 was produced, so with this and the lack of a switchable hammer I agree it has been converted.

 

[Big Cholla]

A word of advice; when you start shooting .22 Jet make sure the cylinder chambers are bone dry with NO hint of lubricant in any of them or a fired brass may will slide back so hard it jambs up the cylinder. ..... Big Cholla

 

[gdogs]

I was actually thinking this was some sort of proto-type that S&W may have been working on. Is that possible?

I would have to say that is highly unlikely. It really isn't uncommon at all to have a cylinder and barrel swapped for a caliber conversion. With the current price of Mod 53's I'm surprised there aren't more conversions (of course there aren't many Jet cylinders and barrels laying around either). I suppose there just isn't much interest in shooting the Jet these days.

 

[VM]

Somebody ruined a perfectly good model 19 is what you have.

How is it that you know the original condition of the Combat Magnum?
Maybe the original revolver had damages..... eroded / cracked forcing cone, bulged barrel or damaged cylinder????????
I say, "neat custom gun" and would love to see pics.

Welcome to the Forum MooseP!

 

[zelda]

Moose- l deleted

 

[MooseP]

Still having trouble uploading photos. If anyone wants to PM me your e-mail address, I'll e-mail them to you.

 

[SuperMan]

There were quite a few "orphaned" .22 Jet barrels and cylinders as one of the favorite frames for building .38 Special LE PPC guns was the Model 53. I think it had something to do with the frame mounted firing pin giving more reliable ignition with the very light mainsprings being used.

When my Jet barrel finally burned out a friend found a guy who had several barrels, all like new but were take-offs.... My friend pulled the barrels off his Model 17 and 48 and replaced them with 53 barrels and likes the weight and balance more than the originals...

A 19 converted to Jet would be a fun shooter...once the barrel burned out it could be rebarreled or just changed back to .357...

Bob

 

[M29since14]

I agree with Bob. It is a conversion, and there is no dishonor in it, in my opinion. Someone wanted a Jet to shoot and made one. I say good for them.

It is not like they destroyed a rare or valuable gun. It easily can be changed back to as it was. There is more to S&Ws than "collecting."

 

[gdogs]

Here are the photos from MooseP.

 

[Green Frog]

It may be lighting, but on my monitor the blue on the barrel and cylinder look a little deeper than on the frame... this would support the "conversion" theory. As Zelda said, the only way to be sure would be to have it lettered, but I fear that would be a disappointment. Think of it as a great shooter that somebody built because they wanted a 22 Jet that they could shoot. JMHO, of course!

Froggie

 

[M29since14]

For heaven's sake, don't waste $50 lettering this gun.

 

[Bill Bates]

It is missing a key element of a Model 53. It doesn't have two firing pins or the switch in the hammer to go from center fire to rimfire.
It looks like a decent conversion to .22 Jet and nothing more.

 

[VM]

Thanks for posting pictures - no need to letter gun as it will just tell you that it left the factory as a 4 or 6" Model 19-4.
Cool, custom gun.........will be great for blastin' some long distance Varmit
FYI - shooting at dusk or with good photography will produce nice fireball!